Paper rack in a paper-feeding device



. United States Patent [72] inventor Nobuyukl Yanagawa [56] References Cited Tokyo, J p UNITED STATES PATENTS Qm- 23 2,893,729 7/1959 Perzentka 271/61 9 Patented Nov. 10,1970 3,285,601 11/1966 Zeuthen 271/61 [73] Assignee Kabushlki Kalsha Ricoh FOREIGN PATENTS T0kyo,Japan, 250,916 8/1948 Switzerland 271/36 32 P g g gg qgzg Primary ExaminerRichard E. Aegerter {33} y Jzp Attorney-Burgess, Ryan & Hicks [31] 42/12,891

ABSTRACT: A rack for a stack of sheets of paper adapted to cooperate with a rotatable shaft equipped with feed rollers, [54] fai Y FEEDING DEVICE sidewalls movable toward and away from each other to adjust a w a g for lateral dimension of a stack of papers, a vertically movable [52] [1.8. CI 271/36, corner element for controlling papers in the direction of'feed 27l/58 and a spring-loaded pivoted arm one end of which is under the [51] Int. Cl B65h 3/06, shaft upon which the feed rollers are mounted and spring-bias B65h 9/00 means tending to move said shaft upward so that when said [50] Field of Search 271/36, 61, shaft and rollers are lifted the corner element is urged upward by said spring bias through said pivoted arm.

I h nullllflllli I'll" l l IlillFlll :8 nmllllllll 111.. 1 b1 --'--;?iiit 2 2 1111113 I Patented, Nov. 10, 1970 Sheet 1 of2 FIG. E

III

INVENTOR BY 60/5 44, gm /Aa ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 10, 1970 v 3,539,178

Sheet 2 Of 2 FIG. 3

' b "n". a mm nnunm *7 mmm l H II 2 "Mill INVENTOR BY flax/2M4, gm VIZ/["4 ATTORNEYS PAPER RACK IN A PAPER-FEEDING DEVICE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT UTILITY MODEL This utility model relates to an improvement of a paper rack in an automatic paper-feeding device for the use of whiteprint ammonia development machines or offset printing machines.

Objects and advantages of the present utility model will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paper-feeding device incorporating an embodiment of the present utility model.

FIG. 2 is a side view in the direction of the arrows of a plane ll-ll of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through chained lines llllll of FIG. 1'.

FIG. 4 is a exploded perspective view of a metal mounting for aligning the ends of stacked paper on the rack.

Referring now to FIG. I, numeral 1 represents a channelshaped frame, on the bottom portion of which is mounted, integrally therewith, a paper rack 2 by means of a separating piece. On the paper delivering side of said paper rack are provided metal mountings (Refer FIG. 4) for aligning side and the front edges of the sheets of paper to be piled on the rack.

On the bottom surface of said frame is provided a channelshaped bearing 3 which supports a power transmitting shaft 4 which extends towards outside through one of side plates la. On the inner side of the other side plate lbof said frame is fixed a short link 5 which is positioned in the opposite direction of aforesaid power-transmitting shaft 4. Pivoting on said shaft 4 and the link 5 respectively at base portion, are a pair of arm levers 6 running parallel to each other which are integrally connected with a connecting rod 7 and a freely rotatable axis 9. The axis 9 carries a plurality of rollers 8 which are provided coaxially therewith and is positioned outside of said connecting rod 7. On one end of said axis 9 is" provided a chain sprocket 9a which is coupled, through a power-transmitting chain 11, with a chain sprocket 10 provided on said power-transmitting shaft 4.

In other words, the rollers 8 are adapted to be continuously rotated by the likewise revolution of the aforesaid shaft 4. In practice, the lowest portion of said rollers 8 are pressed, in accordance with weight, on the surface of the top sheet of the paper stack 12 placed on the rack 2, and therefore the rotary movement of the rollers 8 as described earlier will deliver the stacked paper in the direction of an arrow shown-in FIG. 1 one sheet at a time consecutively from the top. FIG. 3 indicates downward movement of said rollers and the supporting arm levers 6 from a position shown in dot-and-dash lines to a position shown in actual lines corresponding to the diminished height of the paper stack.

When the paper stack is used up, however, it is a considerable nuisance to place a new paper stack on the rack if the rollers and the edge aligning metal mountings remained on the paper rack.

It is an object of this utility model, therefore, to provide an improved paper rack for the use of an automatic paper-feed ing device in which metal mountings for aligning the edges of sheets in the paper stack are adapted to be lifted up automatically from the front end of the rack upon lifting of said arm levers carrying rollers and revolving said arm levers around its oscillating axis, so that mounting of a new paper stack on the paper rack will become considerably easier.

The above improvement will now be described in further details taking, as an example, an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

The sheet-aligning metal mountings of the present utility model are provided, as shown in FIG. 4, at the front corners of the paper rack 50 that sheet-aligning can be regulated at front corners of the paper stack. Each metal mounting consists of a width control member A and a front edge control member B. The main plate a, of said member A is bent. at its front lower portion 0 at an angle towards the outside, rear portion 0 of said from lower portion a; being bent downwards.

The upper end of said main plate a, is provided with notches a and a said notch (1 forming a pillar-shaped portion a in the front end of said main plate. The downwardly bent portion a of the member A is inserted in a notch or a slot which is provided on both sides of the paper rack towards front and in parallel with the front end thereof. Within said notch or slot is fitted with a front end of an enclosure fixture 14 whose rear bent end is fixed with a screw, said front end of the enclosure fixture being bent upward so as to embrace front edge of lateral bent portion a and the front edge of the rack superposing said portion a It will be apparent from the above description that the member A is slidable along said notch or slot 13 in the lateral direction of the paper stack and fixable on the rack 2 at a desired position by a screw l5.The member B carries. as an integral partthereof, bent portion b, which encircles, the pillar-shaped portion a of the aforesaid member A and is adapted to be vertically slidable along the latter. It further carries a portion b extending downwards along the front surface from the top front corner of the paper stack, and an extension b extending backwards from said portion b traversing the notch a, of the member A.

On the rear portion of the main plate a of the aforesaid member A is pivoted a fulcrum of bell crank 16 one arm of which is connected, through a contractable spring 17, with a suitable portion of said main plate a,.

The other arm of said bell crank is provided, at an end thereof, a slot which is loosely fitted with the stem of a staged stud 18 planted on the outer surface of the extension h of the aforesaid member B. I

The bell crank 16 is urged to rotate, around its fulcrum, in a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3 and is biased, at the same time, to lift the member B along the pillar-shaped portion a of the member A. 50 long as the paper stack remains on the paper rack, however, the shaft 9 of the rollers 8 I is in contact with the upper edge of the extension h of the member B and due to the weight of said rollers and its supporting arm levers 6. the spring 17 cannot lift up said bell'crank 16. Consequently, the member B, the movement of which is limited by the roller shaft 9, makes a descending movement corresponding to the consumption of'the stacked sheets.

The construction of the present utility model being such as described above, when the roller shaft 9 or the arm levers 6 are lifted, against the dead load thereof, up to a position shown in dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 3 for mounting a new paper stack on the paper rack, the bell crank 16 is subsequently rotated, under the elasticity of the spring 17, around its pivoting axis, causing the member B to spring up along the pillar-shaped portion a,; of the member A, thereby keeping extension b of the member B out of the way for reloading a new paper stack on the paper rack. This provides ease for a single operator when reloading of the paper stack becomes necessary.

Needless to mention, the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings represents merely an example. So long as a member A is fixable on the paper rack after suitable adjustment in the lateral direction according to the width of the paper stack, concurrently guiding the sliding movement of the member B, while so long as member B is slidable vertically by the guidance of said member A and the weight of roller-supporting members, concurrently aligning at a lower extension thereof front edge of the stacked sheets on the rack, the shape and construction of both members A and B may be variable according to the shape, construction and relative positions of the arm levers 6, connecting rod 7, roller shaft 9 and other relevant components. I

Therefore, the structure of the component parts of this utility model is not limited to those hereinabove described or shown in the drawings.

Referring to FIG. .4, the existence of extension b, of the member B in front of the delivery side of the paper stack may appear to hamper delivery of the top sheet by the rollers. but

in actuality, when the rollers drive the top sheet of the paper I claim:

1. In a paper supply device which delivers paper one sheet at a time from the top of stacked sheets of paper comprising a paper support rack member, movable side plate members mounted on said rack member, vertically sliding members which align front edges of said stacked sheets, said side plate members having corner pillar-shaped guide portions for guiding said vertically slidable members, a pair of roller supporting arms, one end of each arm pivotally secured to said side plate members, a shaft rotatably joumaled between said arms, rollers mounted on said shaft, means to rotate said shaft and rollers, and spring means for biasing said vertically slidable members to move up so that they will automatically spring up upon lifting of the aforesaid roller supporting arms. 

